Jancis has posted a wonderful overview of recent changes in the wine world over the past six years. She's tied it to the Wine Atlas 6th edition, but you can easily ignore the sales pitch and gain a great deal of interesting information.

Extract:

It has been six years since we launched the last edition, in the eerie atmosphere that prevailed on September 13, 2001 when wine seemed so desperately irrelevant and frivolous. Since then, the world of wine has increasingly established itself as an important generator and, perhaps even more importantly, indicator of wealth. All over the world now, a wine collection is regarded as a desirable, even expected, accoutrement to financial success, just like membership of the right golf club or investment in significant real estate. New interest from Asia, Russia and, increasingly, Latin America has put extraordinary pressure on prices of the traditional trophy wines, the Bordeaux first growths and most sought-after Grand Cru burgundies. At thousands of dollars a bottle rather than a case nowadays, they can now be regarded as part of the luxury goods market, with the additional pressure, hardly a factor in the handbag business, of the investment funds that have been established to benefit from their status as a trading commodity.

But what has changed recently for those of us who savour wine’s more democratic appeal is that wine has become such a popular leisure interest, especially in the world’s biggest consumer market of all, the United States. At long last wine seems to have thrown off its damaging associations with hard liquor and beer in the US to emerge as a wholesome, intellectually and socially nourishing pursuit. This year the US became the world’s biggest consumer of wine, albeit still with a per capita consumption less than half that of the British and a puny fraction of average intakes in the major European wine producing countries.

On the book front, I'm still waiting for Amazon to deliver the 6th edition, but I've paged through it at Barnes and Noble, and it is a wonderful improvement on the 5th edition. You can order a copy from Amazon for a remarkable $31.50 by clicking through to World Atlas of Wine, 6th edition.

[You will also make a small contribution to Wine Lovers Page by doing so.]

Her thoughts about the luxury aspect to the fine wine market is right on the money, and it's such a discouraging development. I keep waiting for many of those buyers to move on the the next fashionable item (hand-made shirts? Maybe backgammon boards again??)

That's the point I try to make to people - there are only a handful of countries with fully-developed [or well-understood] terroirs - chiefly France, and maybe parts of Italy, Austria, and Germany [although, even in those Old World countries, we keep getting all sorts of new developments].

We don't even know all the terroirs in California yet [not to mention places like Spain, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand] - and the number of climates out there which might be hospitable for vinifera is almost limitless - Ukraine, India, Nepal, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, not to mention Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, even Mexico itself...

With all the excess wealth the world is generating these days, there are an almost limitless number of soil & weather conditions which could be explored for planting vinifera [and labor costs in many of these regions are essentially zero].

That's the point I try to make to people - there are only a handful of countries with fully-developed [or well-understood] terroirs - chiefly France, and maybe parts of Italy, Austria, and Germany [although, even in those Old World countries, we keep getting all sorts of new developments].

We don't even know all the terroirs in California yet [not to mention places like Spain, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand] - and the number of climates out there which might be hospitable for vinifera is almost limitless - Ukraine, India, Nepal, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, not to mention Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, even Mexico itself...

With all the excess wealth the world is generating these days, there are an almost limitless number of soil & weather conditions which could be explored for planting vinifera [and labor costs in many of these regions are essentially zero].

Nathan, I half agree. You lost me with "and maybe parts of Italy, Austria, and Germany" I don't know enough about Austria to comment, but Italy and Germany have fully developed and well-understood regions, and Italy is in the vanguard in further development. I believe Spain may also be quite developed in its regions and so-called terroirs, and is also developing further. But generally, I agree.

Bob Ross wrote:Interesting speculation on the US market and her plans for a TV show, Thomas. It wouldn't have occurred to me, frankly, since this was reprinted from her regular column in the "Financial Times".

It certainly shows her self acknowledged efforts to publicize her books, both the OCW3 and the WA6.

I'll poke her up a bit on the TV plans on Purple, and see what she says.

Regards, Bob

It's obvious that she is interested in the US market, so it just makes sense to me that she would be laying it out in print beforehand.

She was in the Finger Lakes two weeks ago interviewing and filming a winery for the pilot, and she was also out on Long Island doing the same.

Keuka Lake's Heron Hill Winery is one of four wineries that will be highlighted on a new seven-hour documentary series that will focus on American wine and wineries.

World-renowned wine critic and award-winning Financial Times writer Jancis Robinson and veteran documentarian and producer Alan Wright recently joined John Ingle, grape grower and owner of Heron Hill, and filmed the pilot episode of “Jancis Robinson’s Wines of America.”

The wineries included in the pilot episode include Heron Hill, best known for producing internationally renowned Riesling wines; Harlan Estate, the legendary Napa Valley winery whose Bordeaux-style blends are among the world’s best; Sokol Blosser, the winery largely responsible for shaping Oregon’s now prominent wine industry; and Gruet Winery, located in New Mexico, famous for producing sparkling wines that rival those of France. Robinson will introduce the viewer to each winery and then explore its history, vision and profound contribution to the world of American wine.

“To be in the company of such esteemed American wineries is an absolute pleasure and to be the only East coast winery featured in this first installment is quite an honor,” said Ingle. “The Finger Lakes region has so much to offer to the wine industry and I am so pleased that Heron Hill has been chosen to illustrate that fact.”

Wright expects that the pilot episode of “Jancis Robinson’s Wines of America,” will air in the fall of 2008.

Bob Ross wrote:Thomas, there was an interesting article on the pilot recently:

Keuka Lake's Heron Hill Winery is one of four wineries that will be highlighted on a new seven-hour documentary series that will focus on American wine and wineries.

World-renowned wine critic and award-winning Financial Times writer Jancis Robinson and veteran documentarian and producer Alan Wright recently joined John Ingle, grape grower and owner of Heron Hill, and filmed the pilot episode of “Jancis Robinson’s Wines of America.”

The wineries included in the pilot episode include Heron Hill, best known for producing internationally renowned Riesling wines; Harlan Estate, the legendary Napa Valley winery whose Bordeaux-style blends are among the world’s best; Sokol Blosser, the winery largely responsible for shaping Oregon’s now prominent wine industry; and Gruet Winery, located in New Mexico, famous for producing sparkling wines that rival those of France. Robinson will introduce the viewer to each winery and then explore its history, vision and profound contribution to the world of American wine.

“To be in the company of such esteemed American wineries is an absolute pleasure and to be the only East coast winery featured in this first installment is quite an honor,” said Ingle. “The Finger Lakes region has so much to offer to the wine industry and I am so pleased that Heron Hill has been chosen to illustrate that fact.”

Wright expects that the pilot episode of “Jancis Robinson’s Wines of America,” will air in the fall of 2008.

Not really an article, Bob. Lifted from a press release/newsletter of the NY Wine and Grape Foundation.

Kind of annoying to me in that I submitted a documentary treatment to two American TV production companies last year on the same subject, but neither company had the vision to see the future. I knew it would be done by someone, and I wanted to be that someone. I also knew about her trip to NY a few months ago, having been told by the owner at Heron Hill.

A curious statement, to say the least. I wonder what Dick Erath, among others, would make of it? Madame Sokol Blosser is a friend of my uncle, but I would never have considered them to be in the vanguard in any respect. I guess that I should tune into the show and see what HRH Jancis has to say. On what network will it appear in the US?

A curious statement, to say the least. I wonder what Dick Erath, among others, would make of it? Madame Sokol Blosser is a friend of my uncle, but I would never have considered them to be in the vanguard in any respect. I guess that I should tune into the show and see what HRH Jancis has to say. On what network will it appear in the US?

Mark Lipton

Mark,

It's only a pilot right now, an attempt to sell the show to a network, I presume.

Re, the "curious statement:" as I said, it's from a press release, and you know what they do.

Michael K wrote:Perhaps my preference and miniscule experience) but to me Dr Frank does a much better riesling than Heron Hill. Too bad she did not go there.

Michael,

I wondered the same thing, not so much for the quality of the wine, which I do think Heron Hill qualifies, but for the history. It may indicate that this is not going to be an accurate display of the American wine industry or maybe it's going to be a more pop-oriented program.

It was my intent to start from the beginning in a documentary about American wine, which takes us to speculative landing of the Phoenicians on the shores of Mexico, but that's all I will give away about my concept.

On a possible reason for picking Heron Hill she writes [emphasis supplied]:

One of the more outspoken winemakers here, Canadian-Hungarian Thomas Laszlo of Heron Hill, whose dry Riesling 2002 won best white of the San Francisco Wine Show in 2004, declares that all Finger Lakes vines that are not Riesling should simply be pulled out and replaced by The Noble One. He certainly fashions some of the most ambitiously full bodied, dry and age-worthy examples – not unlike some of Germany’s best modern dry Rieslings.

Laszlo is already rubbing his hands in glee over global warming’s effect on German vineyards, hoping that this will signal a new interest in the Finger Lakes as it is rather cooler than any of Germany’s wine regions – certainly in the winters which are so cold that many vinifera vines have to be painstakingly banked up against what can be a fatal freeze. In 2003 so many cold-sensitive Chardonnay vines were killed in the Finger Lakes that many growers replanted with the hardier Riesling, much to Laszlo’s delight. But all Finger Lakes wine production is on a much smaller scale than the other American redoubt of this fashionable variety, so that while Washington state Riesling may sell for $800 a ton, Finger Lakes prices are likely to be double this.

Nevertheless, Finger Lakes wines are as inexpensive as one would expect of such a humble region, with Fox Run’s price tag of $30 for their dry Riesling, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a well made Clare Valley Riesling from Australia, being seen as greedy by locals. Heron Hill still charges only around $18 for their admirable dry Riesling from the difficult 2004 vintage.

On the paid site she reports on many wines, the first section reads:

This is an extremely partial look at some of the best wines being made in New York State which I had the chance to taste while filming in the Finger Lakes in mid September. Since the main focus of my visit was filming (see podcasts from New Mexico, Oregon and Napa Valley for my further adventures on this route), I did not unfortunately have the time for a comprehensive review of the region. If our PBS pilot is taken up, I hope to have time to taste more widely on a subsequent visit.

I have divided the notes into three sections. Because the focus of our film was Heron Hill winery, I was able to taste far more of their wines than any other producer’s. (The Ingle Vineyard Riesling, of which only a few hundred cases are made each year, seems a steal to me at its retail price of $17.99, by the way.)

After the Heron Hill wines I list those served at a memorable dinner at the new New York Wine & Culinary Center in Candandaigua.

The third section of notes below where taken at a tasting of wines chosen by me from a selection of New York state wines kindly assembled by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation at their headquarters in Canandaigua. They collected a wide range of wines that had been particularly successful in recent wine competitions and I chose to concentrate on vinifera wines of particular interest to me. Most but not all of them are from the Finger Lakes region, which produces 85% of all New York wine. I have listed them in the order I tasted them.

Riesling seemed by far the most successful and consistent variety although I was very impressed by the Red Newt Cabernet Franc.

See also my account of the Finger Lakes in free for all.

HERON HILL

Heron Hill, Ingle Vineyard Riesling 2006 Finger Lakes 17.5++ Drink 2011-16From a mature vineyard overlooking Canandaigua Lake on the Ingle homestead, some way from the winery on Keuka Lake. Bone dry. Exceptionally mineral-influenced and extremely taut and tight. Should age well. Very impressive if embryonic.

Heron Hill, Ingle Vineyard Riesling 2005 Finger Lakes 17++ Drink 2009-14Dry and the most concentrated of this vertical though, at present, without the subtlety of the 2004.

Heron Hill, Ingle Vineyard Riesling 2002 Finger Lakes 17 Drink 2006-09Nicely balanced and expressive – in relation to other dry Rieslings of the world, this one most recalls a fine dry example from Alsace.

Heron Hill, Old Vines Riesling 2005 Finger Lakes 16 Drink 2010-14The vines here have an average age of 33 years – antiques by Finger Lakes standards – from three different vineyards. Not as pure a Riesling aroma as the Ingle, more a rich, almost oily Smaragd from a ripe year style. Slightly bitter, astringent sensation on the finish - very controversial locally apparently! More phenolic than the Ingle. Bone dry and pretty full but without the lift of the Ingle.$25 and 13% Just 160 cases made.

Heron Hill, Estate Vineyard Riesling Reserve 2005 Finger Lakes Drink 17.5 2009-16Very short crop from vines planted round the winery on Keuka Lake. This may be the last wine from the old vineyard thanks to vine damage. Very intense and tingly. Very mineral and dense but with satisfying rich texture. A bit of lime and great life; still pretty austere but with great, convincing undertow of fine Riesling flavour and density to it.$30 and 13.5% 220 cases

Heron Hill, Late Harvest Muscat 2005 Finger Lakes 16.5 Drink 2007-08A wide array of sweet wines is made in the Finger Lakes, from medium sweet lacklustre liquid to tight, botrytised wines and tingly Icewines. This is one is medium sweet, made from 85% late picked Muscat plus botrytised Riesling and Chardonnay. A pleasant enough drink with a slightly catty finish from the Muscat aromas.40 cases.

Heron Hill, Ingle Vineyard 2004 Riesling Icewine Finger Lakes 16 Drink 2006-08Quite a deep gold. Intense and rich on the nose – a little lacking concentration on the finish. Arctic clone of Riesling designed for cold resistance, of which Laszlo does not approve.

Heron Hill, Estate Vineyard Riesling Icewine 2003 Finger Lakes 16.5 Drink 2005-10Molten gold look to this one. Broad, round, even slightly burnt character. Lots of bright fruity acidity, and sweetness at first, although not exceptionally sweet. Laszlo is convinced this wine has a long life ahead of it. I’m no so sure.$100 a bottle, 80 cases

Heron Hill, Late Harvest Riesling 2002 Finger Lakes 18 Drink 2005-14This wine was made from 100% botrytised grapes so more like their Beerenauslese style. Deep gold. A wine that has sold out. Extremely rich and exciting and developed. Slightly noticeable volatility but bursting with health. Molten smooth with a hint of walnuts. Really interesting, and a bit of a bargain when it was on sale at $35 a half. Residual sugar 111g/l.

***

The three podcasts are on the paid site and apparently not available elsewhere. I haven't seen a transcript of any of the three podcasts.

He is Canadian but with Hungarian ancestry. In fact, he worked in Tokaj as well as in the Canadian wine industry.

Heron Hill wines are top quality, and there's no doubt that John Ingle is one of the better grape growers in the Finger Lakes--he grows on Canandaigua lakeshores. The Heron Hill Keuka Lake vineyards were established by Peter Johnstone in the 1970s, with rootstock bought from Konstantin Frank, plus location and planting under Frank's guidance.

There's history and I hope any film gets it right--of course, JR never asked me.

Thomas wrote: Nathan, I half agree. You lost me with "and maybe parts of Italy, Austria, and Germany" I don't know enough about Austria to comment, but Italy and Germany have fully developed and well-understood regions, and Italy is in the vanguard in further development. I believe Spain may also be quite developed in its regions and so-called terroirs, and is also developing further. But generally, I agree.

You're absolutely right about Spain Thomas. Its regions are indeed well developed. Rioja is, of course, the most well known; but, in my opinion, often over-rated. We tend to go for Extremadura (bordering southern Portugal with the Guadiana river running through it) and Navarra (adjoining the Rioja region) ourselves, and have rarely been disappointed with wines from these regions.

La Mancha (directly south of Madrid) used to be more of a 'pile them high, sell them cheap' region, but it has benefitted from the inter-country "rising tide" effect that you mentioned earlier. The Ribera Del Duero region (to the north of Madrid) has always been smaller in quantity, but as far as I'm aware quite good on quality (although we don't know this region as well as the others).

A small, often missed region, is Carinena (to the south of Navarra and the Ebro river). But this is where what is probably our favorite Spanish red comes from, so definitely worth looking at too.

Thomas, here are two responses Jancis made to my posting of the article/press release, and in particular to a question by a reader of when they could see the series:

Jancis
Mission Control

Perhaps never anywhere. My two week filming trip to NY, NM, OR and CA in September was simply to film a one-hour pilot for what is hoped to be a PBS series of many hours about American winemakers.

It is being edited at the moment. I will record the commentary when in New York briefly at the end of this month launching the Atlas. The next stage is to find a sponsor - fortunately for me PBS rules forbid a sponsor who has anything to do with the subject matter.

If this project, the brainchild of a British tv producer/director living in the US, comes off, I will have to spend a lot of time in the US in 2008. So if it doesn't, the not inconsiderable consolation is that I won't have to leave my family for so long.

If it does come off, you can be sure that TX will be included, Patricia.

Jancis
Mission Control

Incidentally, MOST importantly for British wine lovers, a new series on California wine begins on BBC2 tomorrow night: Oz (Clarke) and James (May) get a second series of teasing each other in the company of various winemakers, only this time they are American.

Thomas wrote:Nathan, I half agree. You lost me with "and maybe parts of Italy, Austria, and Germany" I don't know enough about Austria to comment, but Italy and Germany have fully developed and well-understood regions, and Italy is in the vanguard in further development. I believe Spain may also be quite developed in its regions and so-called terroirs, and is also developing further. But generally, I agree.

Sharon S. wrote:You're absolutely right about Spain Thomas. Its regions are indeed well developed.

Okay, let me make it a little more specific:

30 years ago [we're talking 1977], who could have forecast the phenomenal success of Bordeaux varietals in Tuscany?

20 years ago [we're talking 1987], who could have forecast that Helmut Dönnhoff would single-handedly resurrect the Nahe?

10 years ago, who could have forecast that the Spaniards would [now] be undercutting the Australians in the fruit-bomb market [and getting better scores from Monkton, to boot]?

For that matter, who could have forecast, 10 years ago, that the traditionalists would be able to mount such a furious [& successful] comeback against the barrique-isters in the Piemonte? Or, from the glass is half-empty point of view, that Chardonnay from Burgundy would fall prey to the menace of premature oxidation?

Even in these "established", Old World countries, there are all sorts of combinations of terroir, varietals, and cultivation techniques which have yet to be tried [much less mastered], the New World [Cali/Wash/Ore/Australia/NZ/South Africa/Chile/Argentina] is still wide open [where was "Central Coast" Pinot Noir ten years ago?], and we have no idea what promise the Third World might hold.

For all we know, there's some guy in a valley in Nepal, who is about to plant 100 acres of Grüner Veltliner, and in a couple of decades will be known as the new Franz Hirtzberger, FX Pichler, or Toni Bodenstein.

Bob Ross wrote:Thomas, here are two responses Jancis made to my posting of the article/press release, and in particular to a question by a reader of when they could see the series:

JancisMission Control

Perhaps never anywhere. My two week filming trip to NY, NM, OR and CA in September was simply to film a one-hour pilot for what is hoped to be a PBS series of many hours about American winemakers.

It is being edited at the moment. I will record the commentary when in New York briefly at the end of this month launching the Atlas. The next stage is to find a sponsor - fortunately for me PBS rules forbid a sponsor who has anything to do with the subject matter.

If this project, the brainchild of a British tv producer/director living in the US, comes off, I will have to spend a lot of time in the US in 2008. So if it doesn't, the not inconsiderable consolation is that I won't have to leave my family for so long.

If it does come off, you can be sure that TX will be included, Patricia.

JancisMission Control

Incidentally, MOST importantly for British wine lovers, a new series on California wine begins on BBC2 tomorrow night: Oz (Clarke) and James (May) get a second series of teasing each other in the company of various winemakers, only this time they are American.

Looks like you are still in the game, Thomas!

Regards, Bob

Sounds like she isn't going for history of American wine, just for American winemakers today.

I am convinced in a market for a solid American wine history documentary, and I know just who should write it, and the people that should be interviewed for it...maybe I need to talk to Ken Burns! Anyone have his number?